Aerostar with former POW onboard down near KBFL
flightaware.com/live/flight/N6895Z
oregonnews.com/article/20071 … S/71109056
Fuel starvation? Again and again and again…
Sad.
I know the owner of the majority of the orange groves around Famosa. I will see what he has to say. He was probably in the area when the plane went down.
I noticed in the registration that this was a new aircraft for Mr Klein. I know from experience that the Aerostar’s fuel system can be tricky for someone who isn’t familiar – virtually no dihedral in the wings; thus, if the plane isn’t flown with the ball in the center (the way we were all taught to fly), then a wicked imbalance can occur leading to fuel starvation.
Make no mistake about it – the Aerostar is a slick, pilot’s oriented aircraft; however, she is very unforgiving at mistakes made.
Of course, this is all speculation on my part…it will be interesting to see what the NTSB comes up with.
Chris
ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_i … 1789&key=1
Wow. Really tragic when something that seems so simple and routine become the cause. Unfortunately, it’s the simple and routine that will jump up and bite you.
I know it is a cardinal sin to rely on your guages, but this seems to be an opposite situation. The fuel gauges should have shown they were not full once the airplane was leveled out on the ramp. I’m not familiar with the Aerostar’s indicators.
On the ground, in the inclined position, they would have registered full. That is probably when he checked the guages, and didn’t notice the drop off once level. Additionally, with little experience in the aircraft, there is room for doubt (more than usual) in fuel guages since they only have to be accurate when they read empty. Perhaps, if he saw a drop off, he tacked it up to “that’s just the way they are.”
You are right…simple mistake with tragic results – that’s the Aerostar – great aircraft, but very unforgiving at mistakes made.